Devotio Moderna

Devotio Moderna - Perspectives on the Sacred

Art Works by Galina Oussatcheva
and Farhad Nargol-O'Neill

An exhibition
of modern, religious works by artists Galina Oussatcheva and Farhad
Nargol-O'Neill. Their collective works explore the genre of devotional art in
both the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions - mixing an adherence
to both traditional practices of art making and devotion, with a visual
approach aimed at exploring and illuminating concepts such as inverse
perspective, covenant, and the personal within the canonical tradition.

The two artists
originally met when they were both members of the Arts and Letters Club of
Toronto. Their mutual interest in and artistic practices which focused on
devotional art formed a solid basis of understanding, and discussions about a
joint exhibition began in early 2009. Soon, Father Gilles Mongeau S.J.,
Professor at Regis College, University of Toronto came into the picture. Fr.
Gilles has a keen interest in both traditional and new forms of devotional
artistic expression, and was immediately supportive. After some exciting
discussions with Fr. Gilles, the idea of a joint exhibition of modern
devotional art works melded with the opening of the New Regis College building
on Wellesley Street West in Toronto.

The synergy
between the two artists and the College has resulted in this exhibition called Devotio
Moderna which will officially open on March 17 at the newly built College Atrium!

Artist Galina
Oussatcheva is a noted Russian iconographer and exciting photo-based and
graphics artist. Trained in Moscow, she now resides in Toronto where she works
and exhibits. Her photographic shoots take her yearly to Iceland, Finland and
the Netherlands. Her dedication to the tradition of Byzantine iconography is
apparent in her artistic practice, and is complimented by contemporary forms of
expressing the concept of Inverse Perspective and the culture of the Russian
Orthodox tradition generally. Her practice blends a fascinating mix of
traditional forms of art making and cutting edge photographic technique. Ms.
Oussatcheva will be showing Icons, photo-based work, and an installation. She
is also responsible for designing the promotional materials for the show.

Artist Farhad
Nargol-O'Neill is an internationally acclaimed artist who has been commissioned
to create public works of art in Ireland, Germany, Jordan, Tunisia, Cyprus,
Canada, and Barbados to name a few countries. He has exhibited widely, and his
works belong in private and public collections in many countries. He has been
commissioned by community and public bodies, diplomatic agencies, and has
received royal commissions. His sculptures for EXPO 2000 garnered him a special
commendation by the Queen of Jordan, and his 2007 sculpture: "Corpus et Spiritus"
has been given major recognition. His work has been the subject of numerous
articles in the printed and electronic press, as well as the subject of film
shorts in many countries. Mr. Nargol-O'Neill will be presenting his new
Stations of the Cross which mix mnemonic principals and abstraction as aids to devotion.

The Exhibitopens Wednesday, March 17 and runs until May 17, 2010.
Select
works will remain on display between May 17 and May 31